In an effort to drum up more downloads, BlackBerry has launched its official BBM for Android application on the Amazon App Store. The company believes that this latest move will boost exposure of its instant messaging service by enabling people who don’t have access to the Play Store to download it.

Hit the break to see what else Blackberry had to say about the launch.

In a galaxy far, far away the LEGO Star Wars: the Complete Saga was released for iOS in 2013 with nary a mention for when it would see an Android release. From what we’re seeing though, that day is today. Combining the original LEGO Star Wars (episodes 1-3) and LEGO Star Wars II: the Original Trilogy, you’ll have hours upon hours of Star Wars entertainment. Of course it comes at a sizable download.

In September, Amazon released a new version of its mobile app that had a hidden app store feature built in to it. While bloggers suggested that Google would remove this app, Amazon’s app stayed where it was. However, as of today, if you search for the app on Google Play, you’ll come up with nothing. It appears that Google has finally taken action. However, if you’re still gung-ho about getting the app Amazon has you covered.

Amazon is notorious for giving away apps for free, but today is a little extra special. They have 17 apps available for free that normally cost over $100 in total. They have some notables too, like the Flesky Keyboard and Camera ZOOM FX. The most expensive one on the list is the Oxford Dictionary of English, which normally goes for $24.99.

I generally don’t like to download apps from the Amazon App Store since the updates aren’t as quick as Google’s Play Store. Plus it’s a pain keeping the separate app store on my device. However, this is a great opportunity to try these apps for no cost. and if you like them, you can certainly grab them from the Play Store or keep using them through Amazon. Just remember, the Amazon App Store has to remain on your device to continue using them.

To celebrate Halloween, the Amazon App Store is hosting a Spooktacular sale that offers 40 apps and games for free. That’s a $115 value. Some notables include Plex, Endomondo Sports Tracker PRO, World of Goo, and Plants vs Zombies. They also have a few Halloween themed offerings like V for Vampire, Amelia and Terror of the Night, and Zombie Gunship.

You have until Saturday to grab these. Hit the break for the full list of games and apps, and hit the link at the bottom to start downloading.

In an effort to make developing apps for an easier process, Amazon has released a suite of tools for developers to test their application through the Amazon App Store. These tools will allow a developer to push out updates to selected users to make sure the app works well in a consumer environment instead of just the test environment the app was built in. This includes testing in-app purchase APIs and stability to guarantee your app or update is rock solid before it gets pushed out to the masses. Read more

Normally, Amazon has one free app of the day, but today they have a total of 8. Of course, they are all Halloween themed. On top of these games being free, you will also get 20 Amazon coins credited to your account for each app. Amazon is also offering a bunch of other apps at discounted prices. Hit the source link below to grab any or all of them.

Amazon has announced it will be expanding its Appstore to 200 new countries worldwide. Among the new countries added are Canada, Australia, South Africa and South Korea, now having the ability to access the alternative market content for the first time. This is something that Amazon really needs to do if it wants to compete with with Google’s Play Store. Amazon is doing extremely well in the tablet market, however its list of apps is rather small compared to the likes of the Google’s. With the addition of 200 countries, developers may now be more inclined to put their apps in Amazon’s store reaching more people.

Continue on past the break for all the details in the press release. Leave us a comment and let us know your thoughts. Read more

Amazon can stake its claim of being the undisputed leader in the Android tablet market share out here in the States. According to a nice report by research firm Localytics, out of all the Android tablets out there in the world, 59% the overall tablets worldwide are based in the U.S.— with an astounding 33% of those tablets being an original Kindle Fire or Kindle Fire HD, 10% being that of a Nook tablet and 9% being some sort of Samsung Galaxy Tab variant among other things. Even more astounding about this study is that outside of the U.S., Kindle Fire are essentially non-existent as 89% of Amazon’s tablet models are in the States, followed by a much smaller percentage of models being found in Great Britain and an even smaller percentage of Amazon tablet models out in other markets worldwide. This all points out to the fact that the Kindle Fire family of tablets are having a major impact on the overall number of tablets worldwide… even if they’re found mostly in 2 specific markets.

The findings of this study paints an even bigger picture for apps developers and subsequently— owners of an Amazon tablet. What the study implies is that app developers should begin developing apps not only for the Play Store, but also Amazon’s App Store as well as it gives yet another important distribution channel to the masses— resulting in much more exposure of a great brand, game or developer.

Additional fun facts and details can be found once you hit the source link below.

Two months ago Amazon began accepting submissions from developers for its up-and-coming Japanese Appstore launch. Today Amazon has flipped the switch and the Japanese branch of its Appstore is now available for any of our friends across the sea to get their download on. Japan has always been known for its love for technology, so if you’re a developer you may want to consider submitting your app to this newly opened market, as it could be a great source of additional revenue.

If you’d like to see the Japanese Appstore, or learn how to submit an app, hit our source link below.